Life inside North Korea

North Koreans carry bundles on their backs as they cross a frozen lake north of the capital city of Pyongyang on Feb. 24




A North Korean woman sings karaoke at the Hyangsan Hotel at the foot of Mount Myohyang on Feb. 23.


North Koreans cross a railroad bridge over a riverbed south of Mount Myohyang, and north of the capital city of Pyongyang.


A North Korean traffic officer patrols a street Feb. 22 in central Pyongyang.


A nurse looks out of a window at a neighborhood health clinic in Pyongyang


A North Korean man stands next to a tractor and wagon on the edge of a snow-covered field near the village of Ryongsan-ri, south of Pyongyang.


Pedestrians walk along a street Feb. 21 in central Pyongyang.


A nurse comforts a baby at a nursery inside Pyongyang Maternity Hospital on Feb. 20


Well-wishers wave flower bouquets as buses carrying North Korean nuclear scientists and other officials pass by in Pyongyang. Scientists and other officials involved in the North's underground nuclear test on Feb. 12 arrived in the capital city Feb. 20 to a celebration.


Photos showing different hairstyles hang inside a barber shop in Pyongyang.


A 2013 calendar, showing a picture of North Korea's Unha-3 rocket, hangs inside a hair salon in Pyongyang. 


A North Korean portrait photographer instructs soldiers to pose for a picture under a mosaic of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at an exhibition in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, where Kimjongilia flowers, named after Kim Jong Il, were on display.


A North Korean woman, with a fake Kalashnikov rifle used in a theatrical performance, stands in front of the Pyongyang Grand Theatre waiting for a ride.


Soldiers ride an escalator past a model of their country's Unha Rocket as they enter an exhibition in Pyongyang.


A musical performance is held in Pyongyang with the words "Let's strike the imperialists mercilessly with the same success we had carrying out the 3rd nuclear test" projected on a screen.


Soldiers gather along a Pyongyang street during heavy snowfall.


Female North Korean traffic officers gather in Pyongyang near bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to commemorate what would have been the 71st birthday of Kim Jong Il, who died Dec. 17, 2011.


Children play with the camera of an Associated Press photographer as people gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Feb. 16.


Soldiers lay flowers at the base of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il


Offerings of flowers are lined up as North Koreans bow in front of bronze statues of their late leaders


Pedestrians pass under a bridge in Pyongyang on Feb. 15. 


Cameramen use an elevated boom camera, left, and a older film camera to cover the opening ceremony of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang.


North Koreans watch the opening ceremonies of a figure skating exhibition in Pyongyang. Hanging in the arena is a banner with the word "Peace" in English and Korean.


Synchronized swimmers perform at an exhibition in Pyongyang. The exhibition was one of the events commemorating what would have been Kim Jong Il's 71st birthday. 


North Koreans leave an ice skating rink after a figure skating exhibition.


A poster showing a model of North Korea's Unha-3 Rocket hangs in the lobby of a hotel in Pyongyang. North Korea is upgrading one of its two major missile launch sites, apparently to handle much larger rockets. Some design features suggest it is getting help from Iran, a U.S. research institute said Thursday.


North Koreans stand before a roadside mosaic of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to pay their respects to the dead leaders. Kim Jong Il died in 2011, Kim Il Sung in 1994. 



Photos: David Guttenfelder, AP